Mercy in its Truest Form
by firefizzy
Summary: The city is in chaos, and Slade has taken control. But who can stop him? Love has its place, as does hate. Peace has its place, as does war. Mercy has its place, as do cruelty and revenge. This is what she lives by. And she's coming to stir things up a bit. Join the Teen Titans, and take a look behind the scenes at the true story.
1. Mercy

Love has its place, as does hate. Peace has its place, as does war. Mercy has its place, as do cruelty and revenge.

A great writer and political figure once said this, and this is what I live by. In my lifetime I have done all these things, and so many more, unmentionable things.

But this is not about what I have done in my thirty years of life, but how my relationship with a special someone has developed.

From love as a young child, to hate due to the torment and alienation he suffered, partly on my behalf. The peace of separation and the memories of our childhood, and the war raging among our family.

And then there is Mercy. That is me, and it has been said that I am the true master of cruelty and revenge.

This is my story, and the way I tell it will reveal things in a whole new light.

~.~.~.~.~

It had been a long time since I'd gone to see him. But mother and father insisted that I stop by, due to the city's new monarch.

The streets lay barren and it didn't look like that there had been anyone living there in weeks. But I suppose destruction can be like that sometimes.

I walked slowly down the vacant streets, taking in all that he had accomplished.

And I must admit, I was fairly impressed by his feat. But there was still plenty of room for failure, and that was why I was there.

The streets were completely silent, so I noticed immediately the rhythmic marching of a million feet. It was near and I merely willed my body to levitate and bring me up above the crippled buildings.

Sure enough, the army was no less than a block away. Soldiers dressed in metallic armor and masks paraded down the street in total unison. And immediately I could tell that they were his, for their uniforms loosely matched my brother's signature look.

Of course he could have easily changed in the time that we've spent apart, but I was fairly certain, having consulted an a elite band of men whom I trained in the delicate art of disguise.

I couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. My dear brother, how you've grown. But even then, I knew this would not be enough to satisfy my parent's ruthless nature.

Sometimes I thought that he was the truly lucky one, although I knew his life had never been easy and that he did not feel the same.

I closed my eyes for a moment to concentrate on his energy, and soon a pathway lit up like a million stars ready to guide me to the emeral city, and the one thing I longed for the most.

We hadn't had contact in almost ten years. But It was a strong bond that held us together, and still I could find him easily.

The path soon brought me to a large warehouse. From the outside it didn't look like much, but then again, nothing in the city looked like much. But I could hear the deafening sound of metal and hammers, and such blending into one resounding din.

Reflecting the outsides, the interior was filled with advanced computers and the artificial soldiers I had seen earlier.

With a simple hand gesture, I brought my cloak over my head and slipped through, The cloak granted invisibility I went across the room without being detected.

I continued to follow the path down a narrow staircase that took me far below the surface of the earth into a dark room. I was immediately met with the echoing scraping of metal turning and gnashing and clicking.

Once again I smiled, knowing he had returned to the things he knew best. It was no clock tower, but it was still a comfort. But beyond the gears and cogs was a laboratory.

Normally it would be shrouded in darkness, unseen and mysterious to any other than myself. When I ventured onward I could see him standing atop an orange circle surrounded by footage of the city.

He was watching something, but it was unclear what. Then my attention shifted to him. My eyes followed his figure up his armored leg, and his fit chest and broad shoulders. And I yearned to have his deep voice whispering in my ear.

I removed my hood and sauntered over to him. Ever ounce of my being was shivering with excitement both from our proximity and the sudden jolt of power I could sense from him.

"Slade. I've heard you've gone up in the world. It's been awhile." I said. My sudden comment itself was enough to cause his head to twist around, and although only one eye was visible, I could see deep inside how utterly terrified he was.

"Mercy?..." He gasped. It was truly a pleasurable experience. To see him, FEEL him quivering in fear.

"Hello, dear brother." I greeted smugly. His visage returned to what I assumed to be his usual placid expression.

"What a way to greet your darling little sister." I chided him.

"Perhaps I would be more inclined to reminisce on the old days if I knew why you were here." He replied seriously. But it was enough. Just hearing him speak in that low purr of a voice sent chills down my spine.

"You really don't know how much I've missed you. I've been thinking about you, you know." I sighed, as I slid my arms around his shoulders. His body froze beneath me.

But I ignored it and began nuzzling in between the crook of his collar bone, and moved my hands over to his neck, and up to his mask. I made a move to take it off, but he grabbed my hand.

For a moment I was surprised by his defiance, but then I heard footsteps and my head turned in annoyance. A scrawny blonde walked into my view dressed in a ridiculous metallic costume.

"I've finished patrolling. Why didn't you answer me? I've been trying to call you." She asked. I have to say I did not like her tone.

But when she walked in and saw me, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"And who is this?" I asked, untangling my arms from his neck. He cleared his throat uneasily as he moved away from me.

"This is my apprentice, Terra. And she has truly shown her worth." Slade replied proudly.

"Slade?" the girl asked quizzically.

"She isn't any of your concern. You are dismissed." He said, dodging the question.

Terra opened her mouth in protest, but he had already disappeared into the shadows of the clockwork. She frowned, and looked back at me.

I was determined to find out everything about the little mint of a girl and I slowly walked to meet her at the edge of the lit circle.

"So, you're his new apprentice," I mused calmly. She stood up straight, and looked me in the eyes in attempts to intimidate me I suppose.

"Yeah. I am." She replied sternly. Ironically it only revealed how young she really was. Her colorless skin contorted unnaturally across her face, forcing me to snicker to myself.

She faltered slightly and her eyes darted back and forth. As I thought, she's a worthless bug, a distraction, a nuisance.

That is one of the most prominent flaws of my dear brother. He always feels the need to find a diamond in the rough, and mentor it until, well, until it betrays him.

He couldn't help it, I know. But I worried that someday it would lead to his destruction. Therefore it was my duty to save him from his own curse.

"Well aren't you going to ask me who I am?" I asked matter-o-factly. She stayed silent. "I know you're dying to know. Do not be afraid, guess." I added.

She still didn't answer. I sighed exasperatedly as she watched me cautiously.

"Fine. I will give you a hint." I decided. I inhaled calmly, remembering what my wretched mother had said to me for all those years. _A proper start to a proper performance _she always reminded me.

"Much that we call evil is really good in disguises; and we should not quarrel rashly with adversities not yet understood, nor overlook the mercies often bound up in them." I recited.

"Horace Mann said that. Now why don't you loosen your jaw so we may converse like civil human beings." I asked, growing more and more impatient by her lack of manners.

But despite my generous hint, she did not reply. I frowned inwardly, but simply shrugged and replaced my hood before gliding across the room to the staircase I had just descended from a moment ago.

As I walked I thought of the quote I had left her with. It was a shame really that she could not appreciate a piece like that.

It was a strange quirk of mine to recite mercy quotes. Even now I'm not sure whether I can really pinpoint the origins of the habit, but I've always thought they spoke to my soul, bequeathed to me since birth.

And after saving such a fine piece, how could I have given it to her so easily, when anyone else would have appreciated it far better.

Regardless, I have work to do. I will have to continue my research if I am to immerse myself in my dear brother's life.

Slade:

My heart was pounding. I had never thought she would ever return to my life. But as I retreated into the shadows, the memories returned.

The first one rose to the surface and overtook my thoughts, despite my efforts to avoid it.

Our last encounter was years ago, after I had been exiled. I was staying at a monastery somewhere in the mountains of Tibet.

At first I was relieved to see Mercy, her being the only thing I truly regretted leaving behind.

But out meeting ended badly, to say the least and she left me with a permanent reminder that haunted me dreams for years.

I shivered, hoping to shed the terrible memory from my consciousness. But I could still feel the fringes of my past reaching up to pull me back.

It was _Her. _It was always her.

my family, my lover, my ally, my tormentor.

I stepped onto the rusted lift and pulled the lever down. It took a moment, but the gears began to move and I was soon carried upward through the jungle of machinery.

As the sound of clockwork disappeared, I ascended up into a hidden shoot that led to my personal living quarters.

When the metal doors parted I walked numbly through into the bathroom. It was a modest room, with simple white tiles lining the floors and a small walk-in shower.

Facing the large mirror hanging over the counter I removed the mask and stared at myself.

My hand reached tentatively to trace the scaring that cut across the right side of my face. It was her fault. She was angry, and reckless, and she did it. And now she's come back into my life, with more determination than ever.

For what? I was still unsure. But as I went to collapse on my bed, I wanted to forget everything she was about to bring upon me.


	2. Her

**Please please pretty please review if you honestly like it, even if just to say: hey, I like it. Because I personally love writing it, and I have a ton of other stories, and businesses that also need attention and I really need someone to help me stay with this story. **

My heart was pounding. I had never thought she would ever return to my life. But as I retreated into the shadows, the memories returned.

The first one rose to the surface and overtook my thoughts, despite my efforts to avoid it. But the persistent memory refused to stay unseen and unfelt.

Our last encounter was years ago, after I had been exiled. I was staying at a monastery somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. I had always thought she might come back for me, but after a few months living on my own for the first time, I was certain she had condemned me with the rest of the family.

At first I was relieved to see Mercy. One morning she just appeared, confident, full grown, and beautiful as ever. She told me she wasn't leaving the family, I hadn't expected her to. The important part was that she hadn't forgotten me, and she was there, and she had forgiven me.

For the next week we spent all our time together. The monastery had strict rules; curfew at ten o'clock, up by eight, never speak out of turn during prayer, meditation four times a day, no women, and certainly: no cavorting of any kind.

Naturally, during her stay, we did quite a bit of cavorting about in the outskirts of the monastery, where the stone met the strange jungle that spread out across the mountainside.

It was actually a very comforting place. The trees provided privacy, and warmth, and the ground smelt of sweet, rich soil that caught on the wind to lull me to sleep.

It was a blissful, ignorant life we lead, if only for that one week. But our meeting ended badly, to say the least and she left me with a permanent reminder that haunted my dreams for years.

I shivered, hoping to shed the terrible memory from my consciousness. But I could still feel the fringes of my past reaching up to pull me back. It was _her. _It was always her. My family, my lover, my ally, my tormentor.

I stepped onto the rusted lift and pulled the lever down. It took a moment, but the gears began to move and I was soon carried upwards through the jungle of machinery.

As the sound of clockwork disappeared, I ascended up into a hidden shoot that led to my personal living quarters. When the metal doors parted I walked numbly through into the bathroom.

It was a modest room, with simple white tiles lining the floors and a small walk-in shower. Facing the large mirror hanging over the counter I removed the mask and stared at myself.

My hand reached tentatively to trace the scaring that cut across the right side of my face. It was her fault. She was angry, and reckless, and she did it. And now she's come back into my life, with more determination than ever.

For what? I was still unsure. But as I went to collapse into the gentle touch of my bed, I wanted to forget everything she was about to bring upon me.


End file.
